Hand looms



Nov. 30, 1965 H. DAVIS 3,220,439

HAND LooMs Filed Sept. 26, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I ./-/2 I /'Z? J INVENTOR 1 /42,? YEA? v/ s ATTORN EY Nov. 30, 1965 Filed Sept. 26, 1962 H. DAVIS HAND LOOMS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,220,439 HAND LOOMS Harry Davis, Long Beach, N.Y., assignor to H. Davis Toy Corp., Newark, N.J., a corporation of New York Filed Sept. 26, 1962, Ser. No. 226,632 6 Claims. (Cl. 139-34) The invention is described in connection with a hand loom structure capable of ready portability and storage. The structure is constructed to facilitate adjustment of certain components for selective variation in the size of the weaving area, and, in some phases, to assure secure and stable interengagement of the components in any selected disposition.

One type of hand loom is that designed for the home craftsman or hobbyist, where such loom may be used only at sporadic intervals, so that it is desirable, during periods of non-use that the loom be capable of being taken apart readily and nested for storage in a compact form. It is also advantageous to construct the loom so as to permit change of dimensions of the Weaving area with a few simple movements in order to be able to produce articles of different sizes.

In order to accomplish certain of these ends, means, including both method and apparatus, have here been illustrated which facilitate the taking apart and assembly of a loom for storage, and for adjustment of the dimensions of the weaving area of the loom for use, and for the maintenance of the loom components in operative assembled relationship,

It is an object of the invention to provide a hand loom construction which will permit ready separation of the parts of the loom without damage, While permitting the separated parts to be nested and stored so as to require a relatively small volume compared to the effective volume of an assembled loom.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved means securely to maintain the separable components of a hand loom when they assume an operative assembled relationship.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved hand loom construction in which the components of the loom, though they are capable of being readily separated in order to adjust them to various relations or for storage, when assembled into a desired relationship, maintain that desired operative relationship in a stable, secure fashion.

It is an object of the invention to provide the separable sections of an adjustable hand loom with a releasable interlock for rigidifying the assembled sections, but permitting separation by a simple manipulation.

A hand loom embodying certain features of the invention may comprise two right angled components adapted for conjunction selectively to enclose a variable area. Each component may be provided with a plurality of spaced yarn engaging fingers which extend upwardly from edges which, in the assembled relationship, appear to be continuous around the boundaries of the area so defined. Certain of the fingers are in position to engage the warp, others, the woof, of the article to be woven. Each component may be formed from sheet material, as, for instance, sheet steel, or the like. Each component may be L-shaped in cross-section.

The yarn engaging fingers are provided, as, for instance, by being made integral with the vertical leg of the L. The L may extend horizontally to provide a supporting and strengthening base for the loom in its assembled form. One of the loom components may have a downwardly extending aligning slot in its vertical leg. The other loom component may have a mating upwardly extending aligning slot in its leg and foot. The slot in 3,220,439 Patented Nov. 30, 1965 the leg of the last mentioned loom component may have a small projection formed integrally with the foot. A spacer, which may take the form of a stiffening and spacing boss, may project from the vertical leg of that component at a short distance above an upwardly extending aligning slot. Substantially at the lower extremity of each downwardly extending slot is an abutment which may take the form of a boss.

In use the two right angled loom components are adjusted to a desired weaving area by aligning selected slots of a pair of loom components. The components are pressed together until the small projection moves over and past the abutment boss of the other component, whereupon the foot having the projection rests upon the foot of the other component to maintain the components in assembled relationship.

In the specific structure here described, the loom components are of L-shaped cross-section. The horizontally extending foot of each component serves the threefold purpose of rigidifying the component by increasing the material available to resist bending loads on the component, of increasing stability of the assembled loom by increasing its base area, and of providing the means securely to maintain the components in assembled relationship.

Likewise, in the structure here to be described, bosses are formed in the sheet material of the components at positions where they function to rigidify, and, in the case of the boss associated with the slot extending downwardly from the finger edge of a component, they serve to space the component with relation to the upward-1y extending slot, and, in the case of the boss associated with the upwardly extending slot of the other component, they provide a locking abutment and spacer for the component when it is positioned in the downwardly extending slot.

Other objects of the invention will be set forth hereinafter, or will be apparent from the description and the drawings, in which is illustrated an embodiment exemplifying the invention.

The invention, however, is not intended to be restricted to any particular construction, or any particular arrangement of parts, or any particular application of any such construction or arrangement of parts, or any specific method of operation or use, or any of the various details thereof, even where specifically shown and described herein, as the same may be modified in various particulars, or may be applied in many varied relations, without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed invention, of which the exemplifying embodiment, herein shown and described, is intended only to be illustrative, and only for the purpose of complying with the requirements of the Statutes for disclosure of an operative embodiment, but not to show all the various forms and modifications in which the invention might be embodied.

On the drawings, in which the same reference characters refer to the same parts throughout, and in which is disclosed such a practical construction.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, illustrating the loom components separated from each other, and only a few of the yarn engaging fingers being shown, the other fingers being indicated by dot-and-dash lines:

FIG. 2 is a schematic top plan view, illustrating the manner in which the loom components shown in FIG. 1 may be assembled to provide a weaving area, in this case of square configuration, and illustrating details of the corners and points of assembly with each other of the loom components;

FIG. 3 is a detail vertical cross-sectional view, to enlarged scale, substantially on the line 33 of FIG. 2, to

illustrate a method of interlocking between a boss and a detent;

FIG. 4 is a detail vertical cross-sectional view, to enlarged scale, substantially on the line 44 of FIG. 2, to illustrate the effect of the spacing boss in the aligning slot in the assembled loom; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective detail view of the loom in use, illustrating one of many possible arrangements for the warp and woof on the loom.

A loom 10, shown on the drawings, may comprise a lower component 11 and an upper component 12. Both components 11 and 12 may be of right angled or L-shaped configuration, in vertical cross-section. For certain purposes, the components may be formed from easily workable material such as sheet material, such as sheet steel, or the like. Lower component 11, in this case, is made distinguishable from upper component 12 in that downwardly extending aligning slots 15 are formed in component 11, and upwardly extending aligning slots 16 are formed in component 12.

Along the top edges 17 of both components 11 and 12 are upwardly extending yarn engaging fingers 18, the fingers being spaced from each other at regular intervals and forming a substantially continuous series along the upper edges of the components. Each component, by reason of its L-shaped cross-section, has an upwardly ex tending leg or wall and a horizontally extending supporting and strengthening base or foot (FIG. 1). The leg of component 11 is indicated as 19, and the leg of component 12 is identified as 20; the feet of components 11 and 12 are labelled, respectively, 21 and 22.

Only a few of fingers 18 are illustrated (FIGS. 1 and 2). Fingers 18, however, are arranged at spaced intervals along the entire length of edges 17 of legs 19 and 20 (in the region indicated by dot-and-dash lines in FIGS. 1 and 2), except at the very ends of edges 17 beyond the last of certain aligning slots. Fingers 18 preferably are formed with a slight outward bend 23 (FIGS. 3 and 4).

A plurality of upwardly extending aligning slots 16 may be formed at spaced intervals along the bottom of component 12 (FIGS. 1 and 3). Slots 16 extend completely through feet 22 and a partial distance up legs 20. Foot 22, at slot 16, may extend slightly into the bounds of the slot to form a detent 25 (FIG. 3). Above each slot 16 a stifiening and spacing boss 26 may be provided in legs 20.

Downwardly extending aligning slots 15 may be of a width to permit press fitting bosses 26 thereinto (FIG. 4). At the upper opening 27 of each slot 15, the slot is slightly enlarged to permit ready insertion of boss 26 thereinto before camming its way into the lower, narrower part of the slot. Slots 15 are of such depth as to accommodate therein the height of leg 20 after foot 22 at slot 16 has nested beneath abutment 28 and against foot 21. Conversely, slot 16 is of a height such as to accommodate therein the height of leg 19 beneath slot 15. Stiifening abutment 28 is formed beneath each slot 15. The lower boundary of abutment 28 may be positioned at a distance from foot 21 slightly greater than the thickness of detent 25 (FIGS. 3 and 4). The dimensions of detent 25 and abutment 28 are such that, in moving leg 20 into slot 15, detent 25 will have to be forced past abutment 28, and will click into place beneath the abutment.

In fabricating this embodiment of the invention, the components may be stamped from strips of sheet stock, forming fingers 18, cutting out and aligning slots and bosses in a single die stamping operation. Bosses 26 and abutments 28 may be formed by this operation as protuberances or enlarged projections from walls 19. At corners 29 (FIG. 2), a V- notch may be cut out to a depth equal to the width of the base legs. The legs are bent upwardly to provide the desired L-shaped cross-section, and the desired right angled configuration is formed. A reinforcing dimple 31 may then be formed at the corners (FIG. 5). Other fabricating techniques may obviously be employed without departing from the scope of the invention.

In use, the user arranges components 11 and 12 with respect to each other to encompass the desired rectilinear weaving area. A square weaving area may be defined (FIG. 2) by the conjoined loom components; it is not intended so to be limited as such area may be of rectangular or other geometrical form lending itself to the purposes here.

To relate the loom components into an operative relationship, loom component 12 is positioned over loom component 11 so that a downwardly extending slot 16 of component 12 is aligned with an upwardly extending slot 15 of component 11. Component 12 is then moved downwardly with respect to component 11 until detent 25 rides over abutment 28 to engage in the space between base foot 21 and abutment 28 (FIG. 4), thus providing a se cure, detachable interlock between the components. Stiffening and spacing boss 26 takes up any play between leg 20 and the edges of slot 15.

The assembled loom is relatively rigid since any bending loads applied to the loom components are resisted by the base legs resting on each other and the engagement of bosses 26 in slots 15, and abutments 28 both in slots 16 and with detent 25. The relationship of the base legs to each other provide a smooth and stable support for the loom when rested on a surface. Weaving is performed in any desired fashion by arranging the warp and woof across the loom, and engaging the yarn on fingers 18 (FIG. 5).

When the loom is not in use, or it is desired to change the size of the weaving area, or to separate the components either for storage in a relatively compact area or for adjustment, detent 25 is forced upwardly over abutment 28 to release the loom components from each other. The loom components are separably assembled for easy detachment from each other, and their ready and sturdy assembly to encompass a variety of different sizes and shapes of weaving areas; when operatively assembled, the components are securely stable.

Many other changes could be effected in the particular constructions, and in the methods of use and construction, and in specific details thereof, hereinbefore set forth, without substantially departing from the invention intended to be defined herein, the specific description being merely of an embodiment capable of illustrating certain principles of the invention.

What is claimed as new and useful is:

1. A hand loom comprising a pair of components, each of the components comprising a wall, and a foot extending laterally from the lower edge of the wall, one component having interlocking means defined in its wall, each wall having a plurality of spaced apart yarn engaging fingers extending upwardly from the upper edge of the wall, the other component having complementary means defined in its wall, the interlocking means and the complementary means being constructed for the interengagement of sets of the interlocking and complementary means for retention of the components rigidly assembled together to define weaving areas of adjustable dimensions, and the foot of one component resting on the foot of the other component when the interlocking and complementary means have been interengaged fully.

2. A hand loom comprising a pair of components, each of the components comprising a wall, and a foot extending laterally from the lower edge of the wall, one component having interlocking means defined in its wall, each wall having a plurality of spaced apart yarn engaging fingers extending upwardly from the upper edge of the wall, the other component having complementary means defined in its wall and foot, the interlocking means and the complementary means being constructed for the interengagement of sets of the interlocking and complementary means for retention of the components rigidly assembled together to define weaving areas of adjustable dimensions, and the foot of one component resting on the foot of the other component when the interlocking and complementary means have been interengaged fully.

3. A hand loom comprising a pair of components, each of the components comprising a wall, and a foot extending laterally from the lower edge of the wall, one component having interlocking and rigidifying means defined in its wall, each wall having a plurality of spaced apart yarn engaging fingers extending from the upper edge of the wall, the other component having complementary interlocking and rigidifying means defined in its wall and foot, the interlocking and rigidifying means of one component and the complementary interlocking and rigiditying means being constructed for the interengagement of sets of the interlocking and rigidifying means of one component and the complementary means for retention of the components rigidly assembled together to define weaving areas of adjustable dimensions, and the foot of one component resting on the foot of the other component when the interlocking and rigidifying means of one component and the complementary means have been interengaged fully.

4. A hand loom comprising a pair of components, each of the components comprising a wall, and a foot extending laterally from the lower edge of the wall, one component having a plurality of spaced apart slots formed in its wall, each wall having a plurality of spaced apart yarn engaging fingers extending upwardly from the upper edge of the wall, the other component having a plurality of spaced apart cut-outs formed in its wall and foot, the walls, the slots and the cut-outs being constructed so that, on interengagement of sets of the slots and cut-outs, the components are retained rigidly assembled together to define weaving areas of adjustable dimensions, and the foot of one component resting on the foot of the other component when the sets have been interengaged fully.

5. A hand loom comprising a pair of components, each of the components comprising a wall, and a foot extending laterally from the lower edge of the wall, one com ponent having a plurality of spaced apart slots formed in its wall, each wall having a plurality of spaced apart yarn engaging fingers extending upwardly from the upper edge of the wall, the other component having a plurality of spaced apart cut-outs formed in its wall and foot, the opening of each slot and each cut-out being larger than the thickness of the wall, and each slot and each cut-out having associated therewith an enlargement in the wall, the size of the enlargement being sutficient for snug fitting within a slot or cut-out of the other component, the slots and the cut-outs and their respective enlargements being constructed for the interengagement of sets of the slots and cut-outs and their respective enlargements for retention of the components rigidly assembled together to define weaving areas of adjustable dimensions, and the foot of one component resting on the foot of the other component when the sets have been interengaged fully.

6. A hand loom comprising a pair of components, each of the components being substantially a right-angularly bent member comprising a wall, and a foot extending laterally from the lower edge of the wall, one component having a plurality of spaced apart slots formed in its wall, each wall having a plurality of spaced apart yarn engaging fingers extending upwardly from the upper edge of the wall, the other component having a plurality of spaced apart cut-outs formed in its wall and foot, the opening of each slot and each cut-out being larger than the thickness of the wall, and each slot and each cut-out having associated therewith an enlargement in the wall, the enlargement associated with a slot being at the lower end of the slot immediately adjacent and spaced from the foot of that component a distance equal to substantially the thickness of a foot, the size of the enlargement being suflicient for snug fitting within a slot or cut-out of the other component, the foot at each cut-out providing an extension into the cut-out at that position to form a detent, the slots and the cut-outs and their respective enlargements being constructed for the interengagement of sets of the slots and cut-outs and their respective enlargements for retention of the components rigidly assembled together to define weaving areas of adjustable dimensions, and the foot of one component resting on the foot of the other component when the sets have been interengaged fully with the detent engaged under the associated enlargement at the bottom of the associated slot.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,136,552 11/1938 Le Page 139-34 2,227,550 1/ 1941 Moore 28-15 2,241,199 5/1941 Hines et al. 139-33 2,292,356 8/1942 Belanger 13934 2,632,938 3/1953 Kopf 28-15 2,654,937 10/1953 Smith 2815 2,663,066 12/1953 Berger et al. 28-15 FOREIGN PATENTS 176,079 10/ 1906 Germany.

DONALD W. PARKER, Primary Examiner.

RUSSELL C. MADER, Examiner. 

1. A HAND LOOM COMPRISING A PAIR OF COMPONENTS, EACH OF THE COMPONENTS A WALL, AND A FOOT EXTENDING LATERALLY FROM THE LOWER EDGE OF THE WALL, ONE COMPONENT HAVING INTERLOCKING MEANS DEFINED IN ITS WALL, EACH WALL HAVING A PLURALITY OF SPACED APART YARN ENGAGING FINGERS EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM THE UPPER EDGE OF THE WALL, THE OTHER COMPONENT HAVING COMPLEMENTARY MEANS DEFINED IN ITS WALL, THE INTERLOCKING MEANS AND THE COMPLEMENTARY MEANS BEING CONSTRUCTED FOR THE INTERENGAGMENT OF SETS OF THE INTERLOCKING AND COMPLEMETARY MEANS FOR RETENTION OF THE COMPONENTS RIGIDLY ASSEMBLED TOGETHER TO DEFINE WEAVING AREAS OF ADJUSTABLE DIMENSIONS, AND THE FOOT OF ONE COMPONENT RESTING ON THE FOOT OF THE OTHER COMPONENT WHEN THE INTERLOCKING AND COMPLEMENTARY MEANS HAVE BEEN INTERENGAGED FULLY. 